Melanie Sullivan and Kellen Welton

November 2018

North Salt Lake, UT

For the month of October, Kellen Welton and Melanie Sullivan created a Harry Potter-based team building environment in the North Salt Lake, UT office. Each employee was “sorted” into houses after completing an internet test. Each house competed against each other in various games and activities. It was amazing to watch the transformation throughout the month as the houses formed alliances, joked, and teased each other. The activities included Valin trivia and discussions about the business state, as well as more lighthearted Harry Potter style games like “find the golden snitch”.

Kellen and Melanie went above and beyond to transform the office. From house flags to house elves to hay bales, the entire office was converted into Harry Potter Land. It was great to see how the employees embraced the transformation. 

The whole affair culminated in a costume-required Halloween lunch, where employee’s spouses and kids were encouraged to attend. The office voted on the best costume, with extra points being awarded to the house to whom the winner belonged. Fun was had by all and Kellen and Melanie deserve to be commended for their hard work and creativity in bringing everyone together.

Their efforts truly match three of the four platform pillars of Team Valin: Customer, Employee, and Supplier.

Customer Pillar

Everybody knows that culture trumps strategy. An employee who is happy and smiling is going to provide better customer service, which translates directly into sales. An employee who is coming to work and feeling like they are a part of a team, something greater than themselves, is going to work harder and be more inclined to go the extra mile. This Harry Potter month really helped to bring the entire office together. When a customer visited the office, each person was impressed at the artistic touch and sheer overwhelming presence of the office. They were laughing, pointing, and asking questions. They were more interested in Valin employees as people, which contributes to a positive customer experience.

Employee Pillar

The Utah office is undergoing a transformation as more team members arrive. Due to the physical layout of the building, there is a natural divide between the 2nd floor and the ground floor. Before, there was an almost tangible taboo of running upstairs to ask a question. People would just send an e-mail instead. Now those barriers are demolished and throughout the month there was much intra-floor collaboration. Success requires innovation and cooperation and the level of both has increased this month because of this program.

Supplier Pillar

When suppliers visited the office, like customers - they see the decorations and wonder what is going on. Again, the reactions are incredibly positive, with some suppliers asking about specifics and thinking about how to implement a similar event in their own companies. Others virtually joined houses because of their own backgrounds and relationship to Harry Potter. Two people called on November 1, asking who won the house cup! We are here to grow sales. We never take our eye off the ball and neither do our suppliers, but the relationship flows better when there are multiple points of reference. Suppliers want to be included in our successes and feel like they are a part of something larger than just selling a product. The crazy Harry Potter October brought them closer to Valin and allowed us to share an adventure together.

To make this whole thing happen, Melanie and Kellen spent countless hours in the evenings and weekends, planning, working, and designing. They have improved the culture of the Utah office and provided us all with great memories and the beginnings of a bond that we now have the responsibility to nourish and grow.